


When Darkness Falls

by ChloeNyme



Series: Through This World I've Stumbled [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Anxiety, College, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluffy Ending, Hospitalization, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Michelle is Not Okay, Panic Attacks, Peter Parker Whump, temporary deafness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-06-16 13:43:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15438306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChloeNyme/pseuds/ChloeNyme
Summary: Everything in MJ’s life was going really well. She finally found her role in Peter Parker’s and Spider-Man’s life all while attaining her own goals. She refused to be a girl whose life was defined by her boyfriend.Leave it to one black blob made of nightmares to crush it all to dust.(Standalone Fic - do not need to read the other parts in the series to understand it)





	When Darkness Falls

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [like a bridge over troubled water](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11854563) by [CivilBores](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CivilBores/pseuds/CivilBores). 



> Venom is based off of what little I know about the character and CivilBores description of it in "like a bridge over trouble water". It is a wonderful story if you haven’t read it yet. 
> 
> _This is a standalone fic_. You don’t have to read the previous two installments for this one. Just know that MJ and Peter are in college and in a relationship. Hope you enjoy it!

 

 

MJ watched the city swoop below her. With the lights off and in the tranquil silence of the night, it almost felt like she was out there with Peter, instead of watching his actions through the live feed on her computer. Considering the below freezing temperatures outside and the heated room complete with a comfy chair to sprawl in, she felt she snagged the better hand between the two of them.

 

The genetically altered super hero can enjoy the frozen air and harsh wind. Thank you very much.

 

The city looked borderline magical with the colorful Christmas lights twinkling from rooftops and windowsills. Sipping her hot chocolate, MJ was glad Peter wasn’t able to see her content expression as she watched the lights zoom past on her laptop.

 

Peter was the classic dork who loved Christmas. He had been humming Christmas carols and hanging ornaments before she even had a chance to fully digest the Thanksgiving turkey. She even once saw him in an ugly Christmas sweater without any sense of irony. She believed her exact words at the sight were, “I can’t believe I let you touch me.” The jerk only laughed in response then proved her point with a well placed, passionate kiss.

 

MJ never really put much thought into Christmas. It seemed like an overly hyped up holiday only to fall flat year after year. Sure her family did the classic traditions. Tree, lights, presents. But it was more out of cultural obligation than out of celebration. She had always assumed it was because her family was a special blend atheist with a dash of agnostic to keep things interesting.

 

This left MJ to enjoy the most wonderful time of year the only way she knew how, watching her vigilante boyfriend swing from building to building while enjoying the blessed silence of being alone in his aunt’s apartment. Unfortunately, college was out for winter break, which meant she was kicked out of her dorm room for four long weeks.

 

MJ’s com system buzzed to life.

 

 _“Okay, I’ll head to the ground,”_ Peter’s voice filtered through.

 

That was random. “What?” MJ spoke into her headset mic.

 

_“Sorry. Karen was just warning me the temperature was getting cold enough to affect my webbing.”_

Ah, right. Karen. The AI practically made the “Person in the Chair” role obsolete, but MJ and Peter never spoke about it. MJ genuinely enjoyed spending the time with Peter, and she assumed Peter felt the same.

 

MJ glanced at the map that showed the suit’s location. “You’re kind of far from like…anything.”

 

 _“That’s how most adventures start!”_   Peter responded enthusiastically.

 

“Pretty sure that’s how most horror movies start.”

 

_“Horror movies are just an adventure without a superhero to save everyone. And luckily-“_

 

MJ rolled her eyes and cut him off. “Yeah, yeah. Okay, Spider-Man.”

 

MJ leaned back in her chair and watched the dark screen before her. Without the lights from civilization, it was difficult to make out Peter jumping from decrepit building to decrepit building.

 

“Well, Spider-Man, if you aren’t going to give me a show, I think I’m going to change the channel, so to speak,” MJ quipped, already reaching for her kindle.  

 

_“Okay. See you in a few.”_

 

She muted her mic but kept the headset on one ear as she opened her digital library. She was still sweeping through her choices when Peter’s voice crackled in her ear.

 

“ _Wait. There’s something here.”_

Leaving her kindle in her lap, MJ turned her mic back on. “I’m here. What is it?”

 

 _“I don’t know. But something’s…wrong,”_ Peter whispered. _“Karen, can you turn on the flashlight?”_

Peter’s tone set MJ’s nerves in edge. His spidey-sense was rarely wrong when it came to picking up incoming danger. MJ leaned towards her monitor and scrutinized the rooftop, appreciating the wide arc of illumination the wrist flashlight provided.

 

She watched as Peter stealthily moved across the rooftop, sweeping the flashlight back and forth.

 

Without warning, dead glassy eyes and dark red gleamed on her screen.

 

“What the fuck!” Michelle exclaimed pushing herself backwards just as Peter yelped.

 

 _“Jesus Christ.”_ Peter wheezed in her ear. _“Oh my God. Oh my God.”_

 By the new view, she could tell Peter had his hands on his knees and was panting through his panic.

 

“Is that…” MJ swallowed, unable to finish her sentence.

 

Peter shakily raised the flashlight, illuminating the body once more. It looked…destroyed. Blood-stained limbs were bent in ways that were impossible to comprehend, its neck twisted at a grotesque angle. It was a definitely person, at one point. By the lack of maggots and rot, likely fairly recently. Now, it was impossible to tell if it was even a man or a woman.

 

MJ swallowed again. “I think I’m gonna be sick.”

Peter quickly moved the flashlight away, stumbling back to take a seat away from the body. _“I…I should call the police, right? Yeah, yeah. I sh-should…definitely call the police,”_ he rambled.

 

MJ took a deep breath and collected her thoughts. “Spider-Man,” she spoke softly into her mic. “That body seems fresh. The blood doesn’t even look dry.”

 

Peter quickly caught on and stealthily rose to his feet. _“Karen, do a sweep of the area,”_ he whispered. After a few moments he responded, _“No life forms detected. Good. That’s good.”_

MJ let out the breath she didn’t realize she was holding. She decided the first thing on her to-do list when Peter returned was to sync up Karen with their com system so the delayed information relay could come to an end.

 

Audibly catching his breath, Peter took a few steps forward, moving his flashlight to a rooftop corner before sweeping it to another one.

 

MJ did a double-take. “Wait. Go back to that corner.” She swore she saw something moving. Peter silently relit the area.

 

There. Deep in the shadows. A shapeless dark mass heaved up and down almost like it was…breathing? It blended perfectly into the dark corner, the light only catching the parts where it was moving.

 

 _“What is that…?”_ Peter breathed taking a step closer.

 

Slowly, a pink, forked tongue slithered out of the black mass and moved around its invisible lips.

 

Chills went down MJ’s spine. Not good. Everything about it screamed Not. Fucking. Good. MJ opened her mouth to warn Peter, but luckily he was already backing away.

 

As if sensing his movement, the mass sprung forward at an impossible speed and MJ’s screen went dark.

 

“Peter!!” MJ yelled as she leapt up from her chair.

 

Peter’s pain filled scream was her only response. Images of the destroyed body flew into MJ’s mind.

 

“Karen! Karen! Can you hear me?” Jesus. She had no idea if the AI even had access to her voice. She had never tried to communicate with it before. “Call Tony Stark, Karen! Call Tony! Code Red. SOS. Anything to get his iron ass here!”

 

Peter’s screams abruptly stopped mid breath and died down into whimpers.

 

“Peter! Can you hear me?” MJ frantically shouted. She watched as the black blob squirmed its way over the camera before eclipsing it once more. “Peter!”

 

Wet sounding gasps loudly echoed in her ear. _“It’s…it’s still-“_ his voice was cut off by a loud snap and another scream.

 

MJ lunged for her phone with shaky hands and brought up her contact list. She didn’t know who the hell to call. The police would likely be utterly useless and too late, and she wasn’t high enough on the payroll for Tony Stark’s personal number.

 

As she was frantically searching her way down the list, Peter’s voice gasped through the headset, _“Misster...ark. I-I…need…”_ he trailed off and finished with a sob.

The mass moved again, leaving MJ looking at the night sky on her screen. The camera trembled back and forth. “Peter! Was that Tony?! Did Karen get in contact?” she shouted in one breath, her words blending together in the rush. Pained whines were her only response. MJ gripped the edge of the desk and forced herself to slow her breathing. “Peter. Please. I need to know. Was that Tony?” MJ watched the night sky bob up and down as if Peter was nodding.

 

_“It…it cut off the call…”_

 

What? Was this goddamn nightmare sentient?

 

MJ spoke softly again. “It’s okay. He knows you’re hurt. He’s going to come. Hang in there.”

 

The black mass slithered across her view, plummeting MJ into darkness along with Peter. A wet cough erupted through the headset. MJ blinked back tears. It sounded so, so bad.

 

 _“It’s in…in…”_ Another cough echoed, _“…in…suit…”_

 

MJ swallowed to keep the tremble out of her voice. “That’s okay. Tony will be there soon. Just listen to my voice.”

 

Peter screamed once again, but it quickly faded into whimpers and harsh gasps. Dear god, he was dying. He was dying and MJ was stuck in a cozy room with a lukewarm hot chocolate and a kindle. Tears quietly dripped down her cheeks.

 

“It’s okay. You’ll be okay,” she forced herself to say. “Everything will be fine.”

 

Suddenly, a loud screech erupted through her eardrums, forcing her to tear off the headset in surprise. The feedback was so atrocious there was still ringing in her ears. She moved to bring the headset back up but even from a foot away she could still hear the god awful noise.

 

The black fucker cut off the only connection she had to Peter.

 

She looked back at the screen, surprised to see the night sky in full view. Peter rolled his head. The black mass was cowering in the corner, heaving and trembling as if in pain.

 

What? _…What?_

 

MJ glanced down at her squealing headphones and back up at the anthropomorphic blob. Before she could consider it any further, a bright light engulfed her screen and suddenly Peter was soaring through the air, a telltale gleam of red metal in the corner.

 

_Thank God._

 

-*-

 

MJ was silently losing her shit. She finally made it to the Avengers Facility as quickly as humanly possible, which was no easy feat. Who the hell had the idea to move it Upstate? She had spent hours in the car with a terrified May, only to be told that they didn’t have the clearance to enter. 

 

Luckily, Aunt May was a force to be reckoned with.

 

“I already told you. I don’t have the badge or code,” May spoke in a restrained voice clearly one step away from shouting.

 

MJ couldn’t hear the front desk agent’s response from her spot by the locked door. She wished she could help, but she had a feeling that if she opened her mouth the only thing that would come out would be incoherent screams.

 

May loudly sighed. “Oh what a great idea. Call him. Do you not see me holding my phone to my ear? The jackass isn’t answering.” She turned her phone to show the screen to the agent. “See this? This is his personal number, right? He doesn’t seem like the type of man to give that out to anybody.”

 

Honestly, it seemed like May didn't need much help from her anyway.

 

The door next to MJ suddenly opened outward, causing her to jump back. An agent dressed in all black took a couple steps towards them and looked between the two of them.

 

“Please follow me. Mr. Stark sends his apologies.”

 

May immediately pushed past the man. “Well, tell Mr. Stark I’m sending him an ass whooping.”

 

MJ silently trailed behind.

 

-*-

 

MJ entered the medical bay at the same time as May. May rushed to Peter’s side and took his bandaged hand into her own. Immediately, all of the fight and confidence seemed to drain out of the woman, leaving her visibly shaking as she brushed the hair off of Peter’s forehead.

 

For all of May’s frantic action, MJ remained frozen a few steps inside the room. She couldn’t seem to take her eyes off of May. It was so much easier to focus on her frenzied movements than to mentally process Peter clinging to life on the bed in front of her. Peter who only a few hours before was leaping from building to building in search of an adventure. Peter who was currently covered in what appeared to be high-tech custom printed casts. Peter who was attached to a ventilator.

 

Ventilators helped people breathe. Peter couldn’t breathe. Shouldn’t a doctor be in here? Peter. Couldn’t. Breathe.

 

“…elle…Michelle…Come here, Michelle…” May’s voice filtered through her haze. MJ looked over at May’s kind face and robotically sat down in the chair next to the woman. She kept her eyes trained on the sheet covering Peter’s torso and tried not to think about the rhythmic sound of air being pushed in and out of his lungs.

 

Suddenly, there was light pressure on her thigh. She glanced over to see May’s hand by hers. MJ looked up and saw May watching her closely. Without any type of thought or control, tears welled up in her eyes. “I’m sorry,” MJ softly sobbed. “I’m so sorry.” She hunched over as tremors rattled through her body.

 

She felt the warm presence of May’s arm bringing her into a hug. She immediately crumpled into the older woman’s chest.

 

“Oh, honey, don’t be sorry. You saved him.” The woman rubbed a hand up and down her back. “It’ll all be okay.”

 

MJ was far too perceptive to believe the lie, but she appreciated the sentiment.

 

-*-

 

MJ wandered out of the med bay in hopes of finding a restroom to wash her face. Her tears were long gone, leaving a pit of embarrassment and a pounding headache in its wake. As she walked down the hallway, a door beside her opened and the infamous Tony Stark appeared, almost as if he was waiting for a chance to catch her out of Peter’s room.

 

Glancing towards the ceiling at the round, dome cameras, he probably was. Creep.

 

He casually pointed at her. “Hey…” he greeted, squinting at her from behind his lightly tinted aviator sunglasses. “Mary Jane.”

 

She frowned in response. “That’s not my name.”

 

Tony furrowed his brow at that, likely not used to being wrong. Or not used to being called out on it. She maintained eye contact, refusing to back down.

 

 “It’s MJ,” she corrected.

 

Tony smiled in response. “Well, when I was growing up, there was only one MJ, and it stood for Mary Jane,” he said, ending the statement with the universal gesture for marijuana.

 

MJ rolled her eyes. “I’m sure you were very familiar with ‘her’.” She didn’t pay much attention to tabloids and gossip but Stark’s reputation preceded him.

 

“I can see why the kid likes you,” Tony chuckled. MJ didn’t know what to say to that so she just stayed silent. After a moment, Tony clasped her shoulder with his hand. “You know, you saved his life.”

 

While she could feel tightness in her throat again, she swallowed past it. “Everyone keeps saying that to me, and all I did was watch my boyfriend get mauled half to death,” she said with her head up and her voice strong. She refused to show weakness in front of someone she barely knew. 

 

Tony dipped his head and leaned in a bit. How can a man the same height as her tower above her? Unfair.

 

“Can you describe who did it?” Tony asked bluntly. She supposed he wasn’t used to dealing with mentally scarred teenagers. She appreciated the lack of coddling. After an evening of panic and second-guessing, direct questions were a nice change of pace.

 

She let down her guard a bit. “No one did it. It was something…something awful.”

 

He appeared unfazed at the revelation. After fighting aliens and genetically altered humans, it was likely nothing came as too much of a surprise.  “Question remains the same. Can you describe it?”

 

MJ frowned and met his gaze. “Yeah…but can’t you just watch the recording? You made five-hundred different types of web-shooters. You can’t tell me you aren’t recording his actions.”

 

“Five hundred seventy-six,” Tony corrected. Seeing her unamused face, he continued, “That’s not the point. Suit’s out of commission for a while. Going to have to relay intel the old fashioned way.” He leaned back a bit and gestured between the two of them.

 

“Fine. But don’t you want to get…” she paused for a second, wondering if it was even a job for the Avengers. They tended to deal with crises at the apocalyptic level, not one fucked-up, slimy creature. “...you know, a few other people involved?”

 

“Likely, but I can pass it on. Mind’s like a trap,” Tony quipped, tapping his temple.

 

MJ sighed, suddenly feeling worn-out and exhausted. “Yeah, whatever. There’s not much to tell. It was a black blob.”

 

Tony leaned his head forward for her to continue. MJ looked back at him, completely detached. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. “That’s it? A black blob?”

 

“Yeah. A terrifying black blob that surrounds its victim and mangles it to death. It has a forked tongue and appears to be sentient,” she candidly stated. She was so done with this conversation.

 

Tony frowned. It looked odd on his face, like it didn't belong there. “Okay. Well, that’s…something.”

 

MJ deflated, not knowing what else to say. “Yeah, well, that’s all I have.”

 

“You did good.” He placed his hand on her shoulder again and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “I’m glad the kid has you.”

 

At least that made one of them.

 

-*-

 

When Peter finally woke up, days had passed in a haze of caffeine, uncomfortable chairs, and meaningless platitudes from every adult in the nearby vicinity. The ventilator had finally been removed earlier that morning, and the doctors informed May and MJ that it was only a matter of time for Peter to fully wake.

 

MJ was startled out of her thoughts when May’s hand lightly gripped her arm. She looked over at the bed and saw Peter slowly blinking his eyes. He rolled his head slightly towards them.

 

May was immediately next to the bed, carding a hand through his hair. “Honey, it’s okay. It’s okay. We’re here.”

 

MJ stood up from her seat, suddenly at a loss of what do. May seemed to have the caretaker role covered. Tony was working closely with the medical professionals making sure he had top notch care. And MJ…MJ was just there. Old enough to fully understand the severity of the situation but too young to have any type of knowledge or experience regarding it.

 

Peter opened his mouth, but nothing came out. May quickly brought over a glass of water and a straw to sip from. After swallowing a few times, Peter tried again. The sound that came out was garbled and broken and the most wonderful thing MJ had ever heard.

 

Peter glanced down towards her and attempted to raise his hand a few inches off the bed. “Hey…” he rasped.

 

MJ lamely raised her own hand in return. “Hey there.”

 

Peter furrowed his brow. “MJ?” he croaked, glancing between her and his aunt.

 

“Yeah. I’m here.” She leaned forward and placed a hand on his thigh.

 

Peter continued to look between the two women. “MJ? Aunt May?” His breaths came in quick gasps.

 

May leaned over his head and placed a hand on his forehead. “What is it, Peter? You need to calm down.”

 

“I…I…” Peter swallowed once, his eyes wide with fear. “I can’t hear.”

 

Well, fuck.

 

-*-

 

“Both of his ear drums are ruptured.” The doctor spoke quietly to May and Tony at the foot of Peter’s bed.

 

MJ remained next to Peter, his hand tightly gripping hers. He looked at her like she was his anchor to the world and without her, he would drift away. She knew the look because he was definitely her anchor. With her other hand, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. Opening the notes app, she quickly typed _ruptured eardrums_ with one thumb and showed it to Peter.

 

Looking eternally grateful, Peter nodded and slowly exhaled.

 

“Due to the severity of the ruptures, I would typically say we’d be looking at three months for it to completely heal. The right ear likely longer than the left. However, with his advanced healing, who’s to say…Maybe a week?”

 

 _It’ll heal. May take a week or two._ MJ typed. She figured it would be best to stay on the safe side.

 

Peter nodded again. MJ narrowed her eyes.

 

_You can still talk._

Peter smiled at the screen. Mission accomplished.

 

“Right, okay,” he rasped.

 

Tony voice interrupted their side conversation. “Any idea what caused it?”

 

“Likely head trauma or acoustic trauma. It would be difficult for a noise to be loud enough to cause this level of damage, but not impossible. If there’s anything I’ve learned from working here is nothing’s impossible.”

 

“Could his super-hearing make it more likely?” May asked.

 

MJ raised her eyebrows at that. She didn’t catch the doctor’s response because she was quickly typing on her phone _SUPER HEARING???._

At least Peter had the wherewithal to look sheepish when she turned the screen towards him. “My bad,” he whispered.

 

She knew Peter probably didn’t keep it a secret on purpose. There were likely other little abilities or tidbits about his life that she had yet to discover. She simply didn’t think to specifically ask if one of his powers happened to be super hearing. And Peter would never think to voluntarily communicate the information. She was going to have to change that with a long conversation once she was able to talk to her boyfriend without an iPhone running interference.

 

“MJ,” Tony called to her. “Did you see anything that would have caused this?”

 

Well, yeah, the worst sound she had ever experienced erupting through the suit seemed like a likely candidate. The noise adversely affected all three of them, her, Peter, and the asshole blob. MJ immediately brought both hands to her mouth. “Oh my god! I totally forgot!” she exclaimed. “The thing! It caused this awful feedback noise when it disconnected my com system from Peter. It stopped after that. Like, it stopped attacking. I think it’s sensitive to noise.”

 

All three adults stared at her. Tony broke them out of their trance and pointed at her. “See? I knew you were useful.”

 

MJ scrunched her face, wondering if he actually thought that was a compliment. When she looked back down at the bed, she saw Peter looking back at her utterly confused.

 

She was going to have to find a whiteboard or something.

 

-*-

 

Peter didn’t remember much from that night. Which was just fine because MJ remembered enough for the both of them.  He was cleared to go home with promises to come back to check his middle ear function and get his arm cast removed. Also, absolutely no Spider-Manning, which, honestly, would have been quite the feat without hearing.

 

They were sitting on the couch together watching a movie with closed captions. MJ secretly wished they hadn’t picked a comedy. It was kind of annoying to read the punch lines before the actors said them.

 

She was relaxed against his side with a whiteboard in her lap just in case something came up. In the easy calm between them she could almost forget about the gooey atrocity the lurked around somewhere in Queens. Almost.

 

Peter gracefully slid around so he was facing her. “You’ve been quiet,” he commented.

 

Without looking, MJ reached down and brought up the white board.

 

_Wonder why..._

 

She looked pointedly at him after she wrote it out.

 

Peter chuckled at the words. “Fair enough.” He continued to ignore the movie playing in the background. MJ guessed that since he was no longer facing it, it was the same to him as turning it off completely.  “In some ways it’s kind of nice,” he stated.

 

MJ raised an eyebrow.

 

“You know, the silence. It can get overwhelming having so much going on. I’ve figured out a way to tone down the vision but the hearing…that’s a lot harder.”

 

“Sorry,” MJ whispered. Common words Peter seemed to pick up by looking at her lips. She grabbed the white board. _We can figure something out_ , she offered.

 

Peter smiled and leaned forward to place a kiss on her lips. “It’s fine,” he muttered as he pulled away.

 

She quickly returned his kiss with one of her own. Peter gently moved to push the kiss in deeper.

 

MJ moaned her approval. She needed this. She needed the familiarity of his lips. She needed to feel the warmth coming off his body and the tickle of his breath against her ear. She needed to hear his heart as she moved her way down his chest. She wrapped her legs around his torso as he lowered her body down on the couch. He shifted slightly to the side and began kissing her neck with a passion that she missed.

 

“Kids!” May’s voice called from the hallway. MJ heard her approaching the living room. She quickly brought up her hand and tapped Peter’s chest, notifying him of his aunt’s approach. Peter ignored it and continued trailing kisses down towards her collarbone.

 

“Peter,” she harshly whispered uselessly. She tapped a bit harder.

 

“I’m going to the store. Do you need-“

 

MJ’s persistent tapping finally got Peter’s attention. He looked up just in time to see May reaching the end of the couch.

 

“Oh! Sorry!” his aunt exclaimed, quickly looking away. “I’ll just leave the two of you to it.” She brought up one hand to cover the side of her face and quickly walked towards the door. She left with one quick request, “Please move it to the bedroom before it goes any farther. I like that couch.”

 

MJ started laughing. May was so awesome.

 

She grinned as she looked up at Peter’s bright, red face. It almost made it all worth it. Almost.

 

-*-

 

Peter finally had a clean bill of health. His casts were removed, his eardrums repaired themselves, and he was back to patrolling the city as Spider-Man.

 

Which meant that MJ was back to watching his movements from behind a screen. She made him promise he wouldn’t go out as Spider-Man without her. There were still two weeks left in the break, and she would spend every day sprawled in a chair watching the city bob in and out of view if she needed to.  

 

Peter picked a sunny morning for his first trip out. He had just stopped a mugging, and his success brought a whole new level of confidence to his movements. MJ was eating a bagel, once again thankful for the heated room in the sub zero temperatures.

 

He landed effortlessly on a rooftop when she saw it. There was a dark spot in the corner of her screen. “Peter! To your left!”

 

Peter immediately swiveled to show…nothing. But there was something. There was. There was a bit of darkness. And it was a bright, sunny day. Where did it come from?

 

Suddenly, her throat seized and her chest felt impossibly heavy.

 

 _“I don’t see anything.”_ Peter stated, completely unaware of MJ's oncoming panic. There was a long pause. “ _Karen doesn’t detect anything either.”_

Karen didn’t detect anything last time either. That meant nothing. It didn’t mean _anything._

 

She opened her mouth to say it, but nothing came out. Nothing was coming in either. She couldn’t breathe. She clenched the desk unable to tear her eyes away from the screen. Something could still be there. Peter was going to get hurt. Peter was going to get hurt and she was stuck there and she couldn’t breathe and-

 

“MJ!”

 

She slid out of the chair, bringing her laptop to the floor with her. Peter was running. Good, that was good. If Peter was running, he could get away. He just needed to keep running. MJ pushed herself back against the wall with the laptop. Her hands were clenched around the keyboard, refusing to let go. An awful rasping sound echoed around her.

 

Was it Peter? Was he hurt? No. He was still running.

 

She forced her eyes closed and tried thinking about anything that could loosen the vice around her chest. Oh god, it was happening again. Peter was going to get hurt, and this time she couldn't call for help because she couldn't fucking _breathe._ An infinity seemed to pass, _how long can people even go without breathing_ , before she heard her name again.

 

“MJ!”

 

She opened her eyes to look at the screen. She jumped back at the sight of Peter kneeling in front of her, mask removed.

 

“I…I…” she choked out.

 

“I know. I know. It’s okay.” He moved behind her and placed her back against his chest. “Just breathe with me. In…and out…In…”

 

With Peter’s presence behind her, she gradually caught her breath, feeling the air shudder in and out of her lungs.

 

When she felt like she should speak again, she relaxed against him and incredulously whispered, “What the hell was that?”

 

“I think you just had your first panic attack.”

 

 _First?_ Dear God, please don’t let it be a regular thing.

 

MJ thought back to what caused it. “There was something on the screen.” There was a dark spot in the left corner. It wasn’t black and slimy and hideous though. Just slightly darker than the rest of the screen. She had a major freak out over the equivalent of a slightly shaded area. Awesome.

 

“It’s gone now,” Peter reassured.

 

MJ leaned her head back against his chest and wearily closed her eyes. “It was probably a shadow or something equally as stupid.”

 

She felt him shake his head above her. “There was nothing stupid,” he replied.

 

MJ sighed. At least call her out on her bullshit. It was stupid and dumb and a huge waste of time.

 

She just didn’t have the energy to fight with him about it.

 

-*-

 

They were lying next to each other on the bottom bunk of his bed. Peter had yet to change out of the Spider-Man costume, preferring to keep his arms wrapped around MJ. She had her head rested against his chest, her fingers trailing up and down his torso. The material felt odd and foreign beneath her fingertips.

 

After a few minutes, she decided to break the silence. “I don’t know why I’m so messed up. I’m not even the one it attacked.”

 

“Yeah, but it was worse for you,” Peter stated matter-of-factly.

 

MJ frowned at that. “I’m pretty sure I’m not the one who ended up in the ICU for a week”

 

“Yeah, well, I can’t imagine anything worse than losing you. I would die ten times over if it meant you lived.” He glanced down at her, slightly tightening his grip around her. “That’s how I know I love you.”  

 

MJ fought the urge to roll her eyes. She was never one for grandiose declarations of romance. Unfortunately, considering their lifestyle, Peter’s statement was grounded in reality.

 

MJ could feel him swallow before he continued. “You don’t have to feel the same way. I’m just saying that watching you get hurt would be so much worse for me than what I went through.”

 

MJ thought about Peter’s reasoning for a moment. She turned her head to look up at him. “I do,” she stated.

 

“What?” he asked while looking down.

 

She easily met his eyes. “I feel the same way, dork,” she stated again like it was obvious. Which, honestly, at this point, it really should have been. She looked back down at his Spider-Man costume. “Sorry for ruining your first patrol.”

 

Peter buried his nose in her hair. “It’s okay. We take care of each other.”

 

MJ smiled. The dork had a point.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you are interested in reading more with deaf!Peter - all of Chapter 2 of Don't Be Afraid to Be Weak is a 'missing scene' from this story.


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